Reciprocating conveyer



p 1, 1953 s. J. GEDRIS 2,650,696

RECIPROCATING CONVEYER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 28. 1950 /n van for y Sfcm/ey James Geor/s ornex Patented Sept. 1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This application refers to foundry equipment and more particularly to a step by step conveyor for movin foundry flasks from one operation to another.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my ccpending application entitled Molding Machine, Serial No. 723,025, filed January 20, 1947, now abandoned.

In the making of molds it is necessary to move the flask in which the mold is to be formed or has been formed from one station to another. In so moving the flask it is frequently of critical importance that the flask be accurately laced and positioned at the end of each of the Step by step movements of the conveyor transporting the flasks. Particularly is this true when the flask must be positioned to register with the locating pins of a pattern plate or to be so positioned that anotherflask may be placed upon it and the mold impressions in each of the two flasks be made to register exactly so that a high quality casting may be produced within the mold. Conventional conveyors are not suitable for moving flasks between operating stations in the molding cycle. These conveyors are either incapable of accurately placing the flask at each operating station or they subject the flask to sudden acceleration or shocks which could damage the mold.

One of the primary difficulties with conventional conveyors is that they do not make provision for stopping the forward or rearward motion of the flask precisely at a given point. The flask is either pushed or dragged to a predetermined position, but when the mechanism so moving the flask comes to a halt, the flask is free to continue its forward or rearward movement until its momentum is spent. This uncontrolled movement, though slight, is frequently sufficient to prevent accurate registration of one flask with another or with a pattern plate. When this occurs, even though it occurs only with one out of many flasks; it is sufficient to render a so called automatic molding system subject to breakdown, thereby rendering it undependable.

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide a conveyor which will impart step by step movement to foundry molding flasks and which will at each point halt the motion of the flask at a precise predetermined location upon the conveyor.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a conveyor which will move the flasks rapidly but without sudden acceleration or jarring.

;It is an additional object of my invention to 2 provide such a conveyor which is simple and dependable in its operation and adapted to the severe abrasive and corrosive conditions of foundry operations.

These and other objects and purposes of my invention will be immediately seen by those acquainted with foundry equipment upon reading the following specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved foundry flask conveyor showing the carriage in retracted or rearward position.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of my improved foundry flask conveyor showing the carriage in retracted or rearward position.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation view of my improved foundry flask conveyor taken along the plane III-III of Figure l, but not showing the cylinder for actuating the molding station.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation view of my invention taken along the plane IVIV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the foundry flask gripping dog for my improved conveyor showing a fragmentary portion of the ear on the foundry flask for engaging the dog.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevation view of my molding station showing the molding station in elevated position wherein it is in register with the tracks of my improved conveyor.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the base of the molding station of my conveyor taken along the plane VII-VII of Figure 6.

In executing the objects and purposes of my invention I have provided a conveyor track having a pair of rails upon which move a plurality of foundry flasks. A second set of rails, parallel to the first set, support a movable carriage. This carriage is equipped with a pair of pegs at its front end for engaging and pushing a foundry flask along the first set of rails in front of the carriage and a pair of pivoted dogs at the rearward end of the carriage for engaging a second foundry flask and moving it alon the first set of rails in spaced relationship to the first foundry flask. The carriage is designed for reciprocating intermittent movement whereby it will move the flasks in one direction of its reciprocating motion and will permit the flasks to remain stationary as it withdraws to its starting position.

In the following description the terms upwardly and downwardly are freely used and are to be taken as meaning upwardly in the direction of the conveyor as normally used and as shown in Figure 2 and downwardly away therefrom. The terms forwardly and rearwardly are also freely used and are to be taken as meaning forwardly in the direction toward which the foundry flasks are moved on to the left in Figure 2 and "rearwardly away therefrom. The terms inwardly and outwardly are also freely used and are to be taken as meaning inwardlytoward the centerline of the conveyor and outwardly away therefrom.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the numeral I refers to a conveyor having a pair oi spaced, parallel, outer rails 2 and a pair oi: spaced, parallel, primary inner rails 3. ihe primary inner rails 3 form the first tra -e15 and; the outer rails 2 form the second track. The outer rails 2 are supported by legs 4. The primary inner rails 3 are supported above and between the. outer rails 2 by the standards 5 mounted on the cross beams 6. The cross beams 6. are attached to. and. extend between the outer rails 2 Within the onve r I is a mol ing a ion 1. The primary inner rails 3 terminate at one end of the mold station I. At the other end of the molding station I a pair of secondary inner rails. 8. start. The secondary inner rails 8 are at, the same spacing and elevation as the. primary inner rails 3. and are supported by the standards 9 identical to. the standards 5.

car age, i! s nte on the o t r a s 2 by an o he W ee s. 2 h carr ag o sists of a pair of plates 22 parallel to. the outer rai mo ti h heels. 21 and oine t gether by the U-shaped braces 23. At the rearward end of the carriage is a bracket l9. (Figure 5) attached to. each ofthe plates 22. A clip, or dog 24 is pivotally mounted on each of the brackets l9 by a pin 25 Each of the dogs 24. extends forwardly and inwardly of the pin 25. and

as a lot 26. open n 1 m nw rd ac of t dos adj ent its orward nd he fo ar end of each of the dogs 24 is urged inwardly by the spring 21, having one of its. ends anchored to the dog forward of the pin 25v and the other of its end n h red to he t d 2.8. n e ra k The stud 28 also. ser es, as, a stop to limit the inward travel of the dog 24.

At h for ard end. o e a ri g ar a p of inwardly directed pegs 29-, each mounted on one of the plates 22. The pegs 29 are in the same ho zontal an a the d g 24- eol e ed each of e a e 2 s D vlded with teeth 30 meshing with the upper side of one of the spur gears 3|. The gears 3|. are m u t on the shah l u nsll d 0 eac of the, outer rails 2. A third spur gear 33., substania ly m dwa bet en the g r 31., is c nt d on the shaft 32 andv en its lower side meshes with t ek he ra k i u po te a d, u de y he l an c uated; by m ans f. the l d r-3 a d i tg 3 olding t ion 1 s subm tt d on. a Pe e ta l d ns base and a r i a i s 011 a s de o t e moldin s atio Bstween h a r Q he uid s. a sl e .2 i mounted for vertical, reciprocating, sliding movement. The slides 42 each have their forward and rearward edges received into. a channel in one of the guides 44 At the upper end of each of the slides 42 is a track section 43, indentical in shape to the inner rails 3. The track sections 43 are spaced apart the same distance as the inner rails 3 whereby a flask moving along the inner rails 3 may move directly onto the tracksections 43.

Below the track sections 43, a shaft 50, sup ported at each end by a journal 51 on one 01' the guides 4|, is equipped with a bell crank 52 on one end and a toggle 56 on the other end. One end of the bell crank 52 is attached to the piston 53 of the cylinder 54. The cylinder 54 is mounted to the lower side of one of the outer rails 2. The other end of the bell crank is attached to the lower end of the lever 55. The upper end of the ever 5 s pivqtallv attached t the. adjace slide 42. The other end of the shaft mounts a toggle 56 having one link corresponding exactly to the lever and the other link corresponding to the portion of the bell crank 52 extending between the shaft 50 and the lever 55. The end Operation A first flask 60 is placed upon the primary inner rails 3. The flask 6D is equipped with panof outwardly extending ears 6| securely welded to the sides of the flask between the upperandlower flanges of the flask. The upper end of each of the ears 6| is positioned a substantial distance below the upper flange of the flask. This flask BI} is then moved along the conveyor. As it is moved along the conveyor the ears 6| engage clips or dogs 24 separating the clips or dogs until the ears 81 and the slots 26 of the dogs come into register. The dogs will then snap inwardly under the urging of the springs 21 to lockthe ears 6! in the, slots 28. Q

The cylinder 36 is then actuated to withdraw the piston 31 causing the rack 34, by means of; the gears 33 and 3|, to impel the carriage 2Q forwardly. The carriage 20 will move the flask 66 onto the tracksections 43 of the molding station I. When the flask 60 is seated upon the molding station I, the carriage 2Q will halt. Actuation of the cylinder 54 to eject the piston 53 will cause the slides 42 and the track sections 43 to lower sufiicien ly to disengage the ears, 6| and the dogs 24 by lowering the ears El below the dogs 24. In the meantime a second flask is placed upon the primary inner rails 3 ins position to be engaged by the dogs 24 as the carriage 20 returns. The cylinder 36' is then actuated to return the carriage 20 to its starting position. As the carriage 20 returns, the dogs 24; ens gage the ears Blof the secondflask 65;.

While the carriage 20 i in its retracted or rearward position, the cylinder 54 is actuated to raise the track sections 43 into register with the primary inner rails 3 and the secondary inner rails 8. The carriage is then again moved fore Wardly. The, dogs 24 move the se cond flask 85 into the molding station, and the pegs 2 9 engage the ears 5| of the first flask so, pushing this fl sk out of the molding station I onto the secondary inner ra ls 8. When the carriage has placed the second flask 65 on the molding station land has ea e its rd. ncreme theseond flask is lowered. This brings the gap between the upper flange of the second flask and the ears Bl in registry with both the dogs 24 and the pegs 29. Thus, the carriage may again be returned go is rearward starting point to receive another The conveyor provides a step by step movement for the flasks. As my conveyor is used in m automatic molding machine described in my copending application entitled Automatic Foundry Molding Machine, a separate operation is performed on the flask at each position of its step by step movement. My invention is designed to place the flasks accurately in a station in which an operation is to be performed upon them. Particularly is this important where the flasks must stop exactly in register with the locating pins of a pattern or to receive the mating half of the mold. By the use of the dogs 2-4 the flasks may be consistently accurately placed because they will be stopped exactly where the movement of the carriage is stopped. Since the flasks are tightly held against both forward and rearward movement, the flasks cannot slide ahead of the carriage when the carriage halts.

The cylinders 36 and 54 may each be operated hydraulically or pneumatically. If desired, the cylinders may each be replaced by suitable electrical motors or solenoids. It is important that the movements of the carriage 20 and of the molding station I be synchronized so that the timing of the movements of the carriage 20 and the track sections 43 are coordinated. I have neither shown nor described the various valves and conduits used to actuate the cylinders 35 and 54 since any one of many conventional arrangements may be used to effect this purpose. All of the equipment used to control the actuation of the cylinders 36 and 54 may be of wellknown, conventional design.

Many modifications of my invention may be made, each without departing from the principle of my invention. Each of these modifications is to be considered included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly provide otherwise.

I claim:

1. In a horizontal conveyor for transporting a pair of foundry flasks having a first pair of spaced rails forming a first track and a second pair of spaced rails forming a second track, said first track disposed above said second track and between said second pair of spaced rails, the combination comprising: a pedestal; a pair of rails mounted on said pedestal, said rails being spaced apart the same distance as the rails of said first track; a carriage mounted upon said second track for reciprocating movement; a pair of oppositely disposed pegs on one end of said carriage for contacting the first of said flasks and urging it along said first track; a pair of clips pivotally mounted on said carriage for engaging the second of said flasks and urging it along said first track; means for imparting reciprocating movement to said carriage along said track, said means in one direction moving said carriage along said track until said second flask is seated upon said track on said pedestal; means for lowering said pedestal and said second flask whereby said clips disengage said second flask.

2. In a horizontal conveyor for transporting a pair of foundry flask and having a first pair of spaced rails forming a first track and a second pair of spaced rails forming a second track, said first track disposed above said second track and between said second pair of spaced rails, the combination comprising: a pedestal; a pair of rails mounted on said pedestal, said rails being spaced apart the same distance as the rails of said first track; a carriage mounted upon said second track for reciprocating movement; a pair of oppositely extending ears on each of said flasks; means at one end of said carriage contacting said ears on one of said flasks for urging said one flask in one direction along said first track; a pair of clips pivotally mounted at one of their ends to said carriage adjacent the other of the ends of said carriage; resilient means for urging said clips toward each other; means for limiting said movement of said clips; the walls of each of said clips defining a slot adjacent the other of the. ends of each of said clips; the slot in each of said clips disposed toward the slot in the other of said clips for receiving said ears of the second of said flasks; means for imparting reciprocating movement to said carriage along said second track and adapted to move said second flask onto said rails on said pedestal; means for vertically moving said pedestal with said flask thereon whereby said ears cease to register with said clips.

3. In a horizontal conveyor for transporting a foundry flask and having a first pair of spaced rails forming a first track and a second pair of spaced rails forming a second track, said first track disposed above said second track and between said second pair of spaced rails, the combination comprising: a pedestal; a pair of rails mounted on said pedestal, said rails being spaced apart the same distance as the rails of said first track; a carriage mounted upon said second track for movement therealong; a pair of clips pivotally mounted adjacent one end of said carriage; resilient means for urging said clips toward each other; the walls of each of said clips defining an open-ended slot; a pair of oppositely directed, vertically disposed ears on said flasks, each of said ears receivable into one of said slots; each of said ears having its upper end adjacent the clip into which it is received when said flask is seated on said first conveyor; means urging said carriage toward said pedestal until said flask is seated upon the rails on said pedestal; means for lowering said pedestal with a flask thereon whereby said cars will disengage said clips; said means for urging said carriage toward said pedestal being adapted to return said carriage to its starting position.

4. In a horizontal conveyor for transporting a foundry flask and having a first pair of spaced rails forming a first track and a second pair of spaced rails forming a second track, said first track disposed above said second track and between said second pair of spaced rails, the combination comprising: means mounting for vertical reciprocating movement a section of track, said section of track having rails spaced apart the same distance as the rails of said first track; a carriage mounted on said second track; a pair of clips mounted upon said carriage; a pair of oppositely directed, vertically disposed ears on said flask; each of said clips having walls defining a slot for receiving one of said ears; means for reciprocating said carriage along said second track; at one limit of movement of said carriage said flask being seated on said section of said first track; means for lowering said section of said first track and disengaging said ears from said clips.

5. In a horizontal conveyor for transporting a foundry flask and having a first pair of spaced rails forming a first track and a second pair of spaced rails forming a second track, said first track disposed above said second track and between said second pair of spaced rails, the combination comprising: a carriage; a pair of clips pivotally mounted upon said carriage; a pair of oppositely directed, vertically disposed ears on meameom 2 a; saith flask-2 each ofi said: cli'pfi' having Wallsv defim Ref'erennesi Cited; in, thq file, of this patent inga Sm: tor reqeiyin one osai i e xrs meat-gs; UNITED STATES PATENTS for m saldw rrl .onexhr cmonl lon am: v i second;trackappepletgrminett disiange; meapg form Nfl fi Date m ving saidzfias v rtically-w h resnectt aid: 5 5 3' Bunstock 1925 carriagg and disengaging; said; ears firom said 5 1 77 l 221 1925 ps sa mea for ovin said ar iage lqn said sec nd track beingv dap ed 9 ret rn sai carriage to its. start n -m fiiQt- S ANLEY H S ES. GiEDRlg 10 

